Movement of materials and equipment is a significant and important component of any supply and distribution chain. Materials and equipment are routinely required to be transported many times throughout the life cycle of the particular materials and equipment. As such, many transport systems have been developed to help efficiently move items through various different modes of transportation, including transport by road vehicles, rail vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft. One common item in many modes of transport is a pallet that is used to carry equipment and/or materials. Many types of pallets are known, which generally allow for other equipment to efficiently move the pallet. FIG. 1 shows one type of pallet, which is commonly used in military operations, known as a 463L pallet. FIG. 2 shows another type of pallet, which is commonly used in transport of commercial and industrial goods. Of course, many other types of pallets and platforms are commonly used and are well known in the art, such as platforms used in commercial passenger and air freight aircraft. The term “pallet” is used herein to refer to any of the various types of material handling pallets or platforms.
Pallets have widespread use in commercial, industrial, and military operations, and one specific type of system is the military 463L system, which will be used as an example throughout this disclosure with the understanding that the concepts and principles apply equally to any of the various other types of pallets and platforms that may be used in material handling. Standard 463L pallets, as illustrated in FIG. 1, generally require the use of K-loaders and forklifts to move the pallets and load them into and out of aircraft. While the standard 463L pallet provides an efficient cargo handling system in normal operations, the pallet handling itself requires significant support equipment, material handling equipment, and manpower to stage, maneuver, manipulate, and load the aircraft. For example, a forklift or K-loader may be used to position a loaded pallet adjacent to an aircraft, and then multiple personnel may be required to push the pallet up a ramp and into position in an aircraft. In some situations, it may be desirable to reduce the amount of equipment and/or personnel required to move a number of pallets that may be transported as a given time.